Jun 28 2007
Fujifilm will begin using methane gas from a South Carolina landfill to power its nearby manufacturing center, CNET reports. By 2008 it plans to power between 32 and 44 percent of its Greenwood, S.C., facility with energy from methane gas from a landfill. The effort is designed to save as much as 50 percent on energy costs annually. The project will help Fujifilm reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent.
Methane Credit will invest about $2 million to convert the gas over the 10-year life of the project contract. Fujifilm’s costs are related primarily to converting two natural gas boilers which will cost about $200,000.
BMW Manufacturing’s methane gas program, also in South Carolina, received attention earlier this year when it won an EPA award.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
WM To Spend $400 Million On Landfill Gas-To-Energy Facilities
Jun 28 2007
Waste Management Inc. is rolling out an initiative over the next five years that will create an additional 60 renewable energy facilities in North America, Houston Business Journal reports. WM, according to CNNMoney, plans to spend roughly $400 Million
WM says the new facilities, combined with its nearly 300 current landfill gas-to-energy facilities, will generate more than 700 megawatts of renewable energy.
The company will begin building facilities this year in Texas, Virginia, New York, Colorado, Massachusetts, Illinois and Wisconsin.
One of those new facilities will provide power to Excel Energy, the Denver Post reports.
Waste Management Inc. is rolling out an initiative over the next five years that will create an additional 60 renewable energy facilities in North America, Houston Business Journal reports. WM, according to CNNMoney, plans to spend roughly $400 Million
WM says the new facilities, combined with its nearly 300 current landfill gas-to-energy facilities, will generate more than 700 megawatts of renewable energy.
The company will begin building facilities this year in Texas, Virginia, New York, Colorado, Massachusetts, Illinois and Wisconsin.
One of those new facilities will provide power to Excel Energy, the Denver Post reports.
Weather extremes wither LA, drown Texas
By JOHN ANTCZAK, Associated Press Writer Fri Jun 29,
LOS ANGELES - Barring a surprise arrival of the kind of gully washers Texas is getting these days, Los Angeles' driest year in 130 years of record-keeping will go into the books this weekend.
The nation's second-largest city is missing nearly a foot of rain for the year counted from July 1 to June 30. Just 3.21 inches have fallen downtown in those 12 months, closer to Death Valley's numbers than the normal average of 15.14 inches.
And it's much the same all over the West, from the measly snow pack and fire-scarred Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada to Arizona's shrinking Lake Powell and the withering Colorado River watershed.
The weather that's withering Los Angeles and drowning Texas are connected, said Bill Patzert, a Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist who researches the ocean's role in climate variations and has watched a Western drought grow for seven years.
Stationary high pressure has pushed the moisture-bringing jet stream to the north, which has also allowed moist air to linger over Texas, he said.
"This last year it's definitely like the nail in the coffin," Patzert said of California's drought. "This is where the pain really comes home. One of these droughts — you kind of creep into it slowly — and it then takes a long time to get out of it."
Los Angeles has already called for a voluntary 10 percent cut in water use, and in recent months its Fire Department has faced wildfires more typical of fall, including one that left its vast Griffith Park glowing like a giant barbecue in the middle of the city.
In suburban Pasadena, firefighters recently sprayed fire retardant in brushy areas around the Rose Bowl, which hosts an annual Fourth of July fireworks show.
"At this point I don't know why every city in Southern California is not banning fireworks for the Fourth of July, because we have never been this dry this early," Patzert said.
Los Angeles could escape the record if sometime in the last hours of Saturday it gets a dose of Texas weather.
The Lone Star state has had one of its wettest springs after back-to-back years of record drought. As of Friday morning, 10.97 inches of rain had fallen for the month at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. That's only a half-inch short of what fell in June 1928, the rainiest month on record.
The weather extremes have a common thread, Patzert said: the jet stream.
"Although we had a lot of storms in the Gulf of Alaska this winter, we had just a big, stationary high-pressure system either offshore or to the east of us, and really what it did was it just drove that rain-delivery jet stream into the Pacific Northwest and just totally bypassed us," he said.
The circulation of high pressure also tends to cause Southern California's Santa Anas, the dry, warm winds that descend out of the high desert north of Los Angeles and are often linked to terrible fires in fall and winter. In the past year there have been three times the normal number of Santa Ana days, Patzert said, and a "more or less continuous fire season."
"The devil winds gave us the diva of drought," he said.
The shift in the jet stream to the north has also kept rain over Texas, he said.
"Usually the jet stream tends to move these things along," he said.
Last year was Texas' driest ever, with more than $4.1 billion in crop and livestock losses and deadly wildfires that ravaged a record 2 million acres. But many praying for rain a year ago now are screaming, "Enough!"
The central Texas cities of Austin and San Antonio have received nearly twice as much rain as usual for June. And earlier this week, about 18 inches of rain fell overnight near Marble Falls, about 40 miles northwest of Austin. Boats and helicopters rescued people who scrambled atop buildings and vehicles.
Even typically parched west Texas is getting drenched. So far this year, Lubbock had received 17.39 inches of rain — just over an inch shy of the amount it usually gets during the entire year.
"It's pretty rare to see that much rainfall in a half year, but it's been happening across Texas." Mark Conder, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Lubbock.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Patzert, who is best known for explaining the ocean warming and cooling phenomena known as El Nino and La Nina, said such deluges do little to recharge aquifers because the water runs off too quickly, compared with the slow melting of snow packs.
In California, he said, the drought situation resembles the 1950s and '60s rather than the unusually wet '80s and '90s, and it's not going away.
"I think last year, unfortunately, people should plan on that as a preview of coming attractions, because there are no big patterns in the Pacific that are rainmakers," he said. "There's no El Nino galloping over the horizon to save us here."
___
Associated Press writer Jeff Carlton in Dallas contributed to this report.
LOS ANGELES - Barring a surprise arrival of the kind of gully washers Texas is getting these days, Los Angeles' driest year in 130 years of record-keeping will go into the books this weekend.
The nation's second-largest city is missing nearly a foot of rain for the year counted from July 1 to June 30. Just 3.21 inches have fallen downtown in those 12 months, closer to Death Valley's numbers than the normal average of 15.14 inches.
And it's much the same all over the West, from the measly snow pack and fire-scarred Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada to Arizona's shrinking Lake Powell and the withering Colorado River watershed.
The weather that's withering Los Angeles and drowning Texas are connected, said Bill Patzert, a Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist who researches the ocean's role in climate variations and has watched a Western drought grow for seven years.
Stationary high pressure has pushed the moisture-bringing jet stream to the north, which has also allowed moist air to linger over Texas, he said.
"This last year it's definitely like the nail in the coffin," Patzert said of California's drought. "This is where the pain really comes home. One of these droughts — you kind of creep into it slowly — and it then takes a long time to get out of it."
Los Angeles has already called for a voluntary 10 percent cut in water use, and in recent months its Fire Department has faced wildfires more typical of fall, including one that left its vast Griffith Park glowing like a giant barbecue in the middle of the city.
In suburban Pasadena, firefighters recently sprayed fire retardant in brushy areas around the Rose Bowl, which hosts an annual Fourth of July fireworks show.
"At this point I don't know why every city in Southern California is not banning fireworks for the Fourth of July, because we have never been this dry this early," Patzert said.
Los Angeles could escape the record if sometime in the last hours of Saturday it gets a dose of Texas weather.
The Lone Star state has had one of its wettest springs after back-to-back years of record drought. As of Friday morning, 10.97 inches of rain had fallen for the month at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. That's only a half-inch short of what fell in June 1928, the rainiest month on record.
The weather extremes have a common thread, Patzert said: the jet stream.
"Although we had a lot of storms in the Gulf of Alaska this winter, we had just a big, stationary high-pressure system either offshore or to the east of us, and really what it did was it just drove that rain-delivery jet stream into the Pacific Northwest and just totally bypassed us," he said.
The circulation of high pressure also tends to cause Southern California's Santa Anas, the dry, warm winds that descend out of the high desert north of Los Angeles and are often linked to terrible fires in fall and winter. In the past year there have been three times the normal number of Santa Ana days, Patzert said, and a "more or less continuous fire season."
"The devil winds gave us the diva of drought," he said.
The shift in the jet stream to the north has also kept rain over Texas, he said.
"Usually the jet stream tends to move these things along," he said.
Last year was Texas' driest ever, with more than $4.1 billion in crop and livestock losses and deadly wildfires that ravaged a record 2 million acres. But many praying for rain a year ago now are screaming, "Enough!"
The central Texas cities of Austin and San Antonio have received nearly twice as much rain as usual for June. And earlier this week, about 18 inches of rain fell overnight near Marble Falls, about 40 miles northwest of Austin. Boats and helicopters rescued people who scrambled atop buildings and vehicles.
Even typically parched west Texas is getting drenched. So far this year, Lubbock had received 17.39 inches of rain — just over an inch shy of the amount it usually gets during the entire year.
"It's pretty rare to see that much rainfall in a half year, but it's been happening across Texas." Mark Conder, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Lubbock.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Patzert, who is best known for explaining the ocean warming and cooling phenomena known as El Nino and La Nina, said such deluges do little to recharge aquifers because the water runs off too quickly, compared with the slow melting of snow packs.
In California, he said, the drought situation resembles the 1950s and '60s rather than the unusually wet '80s and '90s, and it's not going away.
"I think last year, unfortunately, people should plan on that as a preview of coming attractions, because there are no big patterns in the Pacific that are rainmakers," he said. "There's no El Nino galloping over the horizon to save us here."
___
Associated Press writer Jeff Carlton in Dallas contributed to this report.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Bottled Water: A Symbol of U.S. Commerce, Culture
All Things Considered, June 28, 2007 · The bottled water business in the United States is booming. People increasingly are willing to pay for something they can just as easily have for free. Yet many people around the world have no dependable, safe drinking water. Charles Fishman of Fast Company magazine talks about his article "Message in a Bottle" with Robert Siegel.
In the article, Fishman calls a plastic bottle of water in a store's cooler "the perfect symbol of this moment in American commerce and culture. It acknowledges our demand for instant gratification, our vanity, our token concern for health. Its packaging and transport depend entirely on cheap fossil fuel."
He writes that when an industry that supplies something people don't need — an industry "built on the packaging and the presentation" — grows and thrives like the bottled-water industry, it's important to ask how that happened and what the impact is.
Follow link to listen:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11523344
In the article, Fishman calls a plastic bottle of water in a store's cooler "the perfect symbol of this moment in American commerce and culture. It acknowledges our demand for instant gratification, our vanity, our token concern for health. Its packaging and transport depend entirely on cheap fossil fuel."
He writes that when an industry that supplies something people don't need — an industry "built on the packaging and the presentation" — grows and thrives like the bottled-water industry, it's important to ask how that happened and what the impact is.
Follow link to listen:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11523344
Shhhh, We've Got a Secret: Soil Solves Global Warming, Part 1
by George Spyros, New York City, USA on 06.28.07
Take Action
In the seven-minute video after the jump, QuantumShift.tv turns its lens to the carbon emissions caused by large-scale farming practices used in growing much of the food in the United States, Canada and the UK. According to the video Soil: The Secret Solution to Global Warming, land farmed organically, using such methods as "no-till" and the planting of winter cover crops, absorbs and holds up to 30% more carbon than conventional agriculture. Converting all US farmland to organic would reduce CO2 emissions by 10%. The UK version of the video states that such a conversion would result in a 20% per year reduction in CO2 emissions (although the on-screen graphic still reads 10%, ostensibly because only the voice-over has been changed from the US version). The extra carbon in the soil also increases food nutrients, which could greatly reduce health care costs. Dig a little deeper after the jump.
Watch more videos like this at www.quantumshift.tv
The land-based carbon cycle works as plants take CO2 out of the atmosphere and convert it to organic material by photosynthesis. The oxygen in the molecule is released back into the air and the carbon becomes part of the plant's structure and eventually the soil. Plowing churns up this organic matter and introduces oxygen which expedites its decay. That is, the exposed carbon recombines with oxygen and is released into the atmosphere as CO2, a principle greenhouse gas. The organic farming practice of no-till greatly reduces this large-scale break-up of soil by cutting small slits that are just large enough to accommodate the planting of seeds, thereby conserving the amount of carbon stored in the earth. From a policy perspective, it is most accurate and I think effective to refer to such storing as "agricultural carbon sequestration" in opposition to the industrial catch phrase "carbon sequestration" which refers to the business of going to impractical lengths and assuming a high degree of risk to bury CO2 in the earth's crust. According to the USDA, U.S. agricultural soils have lost, on average, about one-third of the carbon they contained before wide-scale cultivation began in the 1800s, but more on that later. The video also points out that less tillage also decreases C02 emissions from farm machinery since the equipment makes fewer runs over the field. Also, the benefits of no-till sequestration are tripled when combined with the planting of winter cover crops which are used in organic farming to maintain a healthy soil.
Much of the data in the video is based on a 27-year comparative study conducted by the Rodale Institute in Pennsylvannia which also dispels the myth that chemical fertilizers are needed to provide better yields. Today I spoke briefly with Dr. Paul Hepperly who's featured in the video in an on-camera interview, and he told me that the data from the study has been taken up by Kyoto Protocol signatories Great Britain, Germany and the Netherlands as a component of their climate roadmaps for reducing atmospheric CO2 levels. Notwithstanding that good news, petitions are available which have the goal of pushing leaders to shift existing agricultural subsidies from conventional to organic farming. Go here to sign for the US, Canada or ROW (rest of world). Via:: QuantumShift.tv
Take Action
In the seven-minute video after the jump, QuantumShift.tv turns its lens to the carbon emissions caused by large-scale farming practices used in growing much of the food in the United States, Canada and the UK. According to the video Soil: The Secret Solution to Global Warming, land farmed organically, using such methods as "no-till" and the planting of winter cover crops, absorbs and holds up to 30% more carbon than conventional agriculture. Converting all US farmland to organic would reduce CO2 emissions by 10%. The UK version of the video states that such a conversion would result in a 20% per year reduction in CO2 emissions (although the on-screen graphic still reads 10%, ostensibly because only the voice-over has been changed from the US version). The extra carbon in the soil also increases food nutrients, which could greatly reduce health care costs. Dig a little deeper after the jump.
Watch more videos like this at www.quantumshift.tv
The land-based carbon cycle works as plants take CO2 out of the atmosphere and convert it to organic material by photosynthesis. The oxygen in the molecule is released back into the air and the carbon becomes part of the plant's structure and eventually the soil. Plowing churns up this organic matter and introduces oxygen which expedites its decay. That is, the exposed carbon recombines with oxygen and is released into the atmosphere as CO2, a principle greenhouse gas. The organic farming practice of no-till greatly reduces this large-scale break-up of soil by cutting small slits that are just large enough to accommodate the planting of seeds, thereby conserving the amount of carbon stored in the earth. From a policy perspective, it is most accurate and I think effective to refer to such storing as "agricultural carbon sequestration" in opposition to the industrial catch phrase "carbon sequestration" which refers to the business of going to impractical lengths and assuming a high degree of risk to bury CO2 in the earth's crust. According to the USDA, U.S. agricultural soils have lost, on average, about one-third of the carbon they contained before wide-scale cultivation began in the 1800s, but more on that later. The video also points out that less tillage also decreases C02 emissions from farm machinery since the equipment makes fewer runs over the field. Also, the benefits of no-till sequestration are tripled when combined with the planting of winter cover crops which are used in organic farming to maintain a healthy soil.
Much of the data in the video is based on a 27-year comparative study conducted by the Rodale Institute in Pennsylvannia which also dispels the myth that chemical fertilizers are needed to provide better yields. Today I spoke briefly with Dr. Paul Hepperly who's featured in the video in an on-camera interview, and he told me that the data from the study has been taken up by Kyoto Protocol signatories Great Britain, Germany and the Netherlands as a component of their climate roadmaps for reducing atmospheric CO2 levels. Notwithstanding that good news, petitions are available which have the goal of pushing leaders to shift existing agricultural subsidies from conventional to organic farming. Go here to sign for the US, Canada or ROW (rest of world). Via:: QuantumShift.tv
Heavy Rain Kills in UK, Pakistan and Bangladesh
The UK has seen an incredible amount of rain, in a very short time. One sixth of the average annual rainfall in 24 hours - the tragic results are obvious; massive flooding, huge property damage and several deaths. In other parts of the world there is more unusual weather causing problems. In Pakistan flooding killed 200, and more rain in Bangledesh killed 100 when it caused heavy mudslides.
Can this extraordinary weather be attributed to climate change? Obviously, we can say if it's a direct result, but it is plain to see that this weather is extremely unusual. Many researchers agree that rainfall is likely to increase die to climate change, and with many parts of England as low as they are we should be paying close attention.
The Fire Brigades Union described the rescue effort in the UK as the 'biggest in peacetime Britain', with 3,500 people being rescued in recent days. BBC weather forecaster Jay Wynne believes that some areas could see another 2 inches of rain at the weekend, so the situation is far from over. "Today it's a pretty reasonable day. One or two light showers. There will be some rain overnight. The main event is going to be this weekend. There will be plenty of wet, windy weather across the country on Saturday. It could be quite nasty." ::BBC
Wow is Right: Clean Technology Removes More than Just Carbon Dioxide
Developing a cheap and effective technology to scrub clean the emissions spewing forth from thousands of factory smoke stacks around the world would go a long ways toward tackling global warming. With coal-powered utilities likely to continue mushrooming at a steady rate in rapidly developing countries like China and India, finding a way to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions has become a clear priority.
The aptly named Wow Energy may have just invented the technology necessary to help accomplish that challenging objective. Its proprietary technology, dubbed Wow-Clean, is superior to that of its competitors in one main respect: in addition to removing carbon dioxide from emissions, it also tackles sulphur, nitrogen and mercury. In recent tests conducted by a third party, Wow's technology was shown to remove 85 - 95% of heavy metal pollutants and up to 85% of carbon dioxide from emissions, compared with other scrubbers, whose technologies only removed an average of 50 - 60% of mercury from emissions.
The technology works by first cooling the emissions and then adding chemicals to allow them to be converted into water soluble, non-polluting compounds and solid particles that can then be washed out. It is highly versatile: it can be installed on coal-fired power plants, furnaces, incinerators, gasifiers, gas turbines and a bevy of other utilities.
By combining several scrubbing technologies into one, Wow-Clean is more efficient than its rivals, and cheaper as well. With costs ranging between $22 and $25 million for a typical 250 megawatt power plant, Wow's technology is about as expensive as that of single pollutant scrubbers, a clear advantage in an increasingly competitive market.
"This technology can make coal a clean and pollution-free fuel and allow industry to upgrade existing electrical generating units rather than build new, expensive and unproven power plants to supply the world's demands for clean power," said Daniel Stringer, Wow's chairman and the inventor of its breakthrough technology.
Via ::Financial Times: Tough task of getting polluters to come clean (newspaper)
From Quarry to Ritzy: Songjiang Green Resort
A 37,237 sq ft (3,459 sq m) green roof covers the entirety of a new green resort under construction in Shanghai's Songjiang district, just southwest of China's most populous city. The hotel, built into a previously used 328 ft (100m) quarry, will feature approximately 400 rooms, restaurants, sports facilities and even some underwater areas for guests. Sounds pretty energy intensive, right? Well...yes, but like any green resort worth its weight in renminbi, the Songjiang Hotel explored alternative energy sources for their electrical and heating systems. The alt energy winner? Geothermal. The swank five-star resort is expected to open in May of 2009. Via ::Designflute Via ::Inhabitat Also in TreeHugger: Tibetan Eco-lodge
Thursday, June 28, 2007
USDA Waters Down Organic Standards
Organic food is organically grown, except when it isn't. Confused? So are we. (Man, are we ever.) The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) greenlighted a proposal late last Friday allowing 38 new non-organic ingredients in products bearing the "USDA Organic" seal, despite more than 10,000 e-mails and letters from concerned consumers and farmers, according to the Organic Consumer's Association.
The USDA's proposal will mean that Anheuser Bush will be allowed to sell its Organic Wild Hops Beer without using any organic hops at all. USDA Organic-certified sausages, brats, and breakfast links will be allowed contain intestines from factory-farmed animals raised on chemically grown feed, synthetic hormones, slaugterhouse waste, and antibiotics. Fish oil with the USDA seal of approval may also contain toxins such as PCBs and mercury for that extra flavor. Cats and dogs will be forced to live together. (Okay, we made that last one up.)
If, like Howard Beale on Network, you're mad as hell and you're not going to take it anymore, seize advantage of the 60-day public-comment period and send a letter to the USDA now. :: Organic Consumers Associaton
See also: :: Organic Food is Like, Organic, Right?, :: "Sustainable" Label Offered As Alternative to "Organic", and :: USDA Organic: Drama In The Produce Section
Biosphere 2: Research Facility Provides Link Between Lab and Real World
The University of Arizona has just announced that it plans on making available its Biosphere 2 research facility for lease to study the effects of climate change, the global water cycle and the cycling of energy through the planet's various ecosystems. With a 34.5 acre campus encompassing 300,000 square feet of lab, classroom, housing and office space, Biosphere 2 stands to deliver much in the realm of new scientific discoveries and more accurate climate modeling and simulations.
UA officials haven't been shy about trumpeting its resources and the opportunities for future interdisciplinary projects it offers. "The facilities and resources at this new campus will be an inspiring place for researchers to gather and to tackle problems that science and society will face now and in the future," said Joaquin Ruiz, the dean of the university's College of Science. "At Biosphere 2, we will address not only the problems of our current condition, but also those of the 22nd century that are still below the horizon."
Although it will be leased to other research institutions, Biosphere 2 will remain under the UA's supervision and will thus continue its B2 Earthscience program, which attempts to tackle issues related to global environmental change, and B2 Institute, which conducts interdisciplinary programs to address so-called scientific "Grand Challenges." In addition, it will continue to operate its popular tours, which have attracted over 2.3 million visitors so far.
"As a research facility, Biosphere 2 is unique in its spatial scale. The facility provides us a bridge between our small-scale, controlled, laboratory-based understandings of earth processes and experiments in field settings where we cannot control all environmental conditions. Biosphere 2's size allows us to do controlled experimentation at an unprecedented scale," said B2 Earthscience Director Huxman. "A unique aspect of this facility is its ability to support experiments that will provide us the missing link between laboratory and real world."
The ability to recreate entire ecosystems under closed, supervised conditions to study particular questions certainly presents many advantages to scientists interested in a range of ecological, evolutionary and environmental issues. However, that's not to say that this is the perfect solution: as many researchers would attest, trying to precisely recreate particular ecosystems and situations in a laboratory setting is far from ideal and can often introduce unique problems that would not be encountered under natural conditions. While experiments carried out in Biosphere 2 may not provide a perfect alternative to studies conducted in the field, they will still impart unique and valuable information that will help us gain a better understand of global environmental processes.
Via ::The University of Arizona Launches Major Scientific Research Initiative at Biosphere 2 (press release)
Eco-Maniacs Take Over Giants Stadium
Now I’ve spent a bit of time at Giants Stadium in my life, and I’d be willing to bet that no one would ever accuse the folks who run the place of being eco-maniacs. But it turns out that the organizers of Live Earth have made some real strides in turning that event into the most sustainably produced event in the venues history. For starters they’ll be instating a triple-stream system which combines waste, compost and recycling with the goal of more than doubling the rate of waste that avoids landfills from the tens of thousands of concert-goers who’ll be rockin’ it out the day of the show. To help reduce the amount of waste generated there will be separate recycling and composting bins placed strategically throughout the venue to encourage even your music obsessed, but environmentally clueless 17 year-old nephew to be environmentally conscious with his trash. And lest you suspect that every bin will wind up as a receptacle for trash, they’ve lined up more than 800 volunteers to help educate and direct people to place the trash in their hand into the correct bins on the day of the event. They’ll even be using compostable Bioware provided by Aramark which will be used for all food and beverage services, with any signage present made from bio-material that will eventually be composted or reused as well. As Josh Stempel, director of sponsorship greening for Live Earth put it, “Live Earth is all about making little changes to create a huge impact,”
Now granted they’ve been working to plan the greening effort at Giants Stadium for about 12 weeks, talking with everyone from the site’s operators to promoters and even the caterers. But the result should be well worth the effort, and provide a significant educational experience to everyone there far and beyond the obvious message of the climate crisis itself. I mean how many people even know that Aramark produces Bioware? Of course they’ll also be looking to optimize lighting to reduce energy consumption and exchange inefficient bulbs for efficient ones like most earthlings are pretty much aware they should… But backstage they’ll be serving water from large coolers to reduce the amount of plastic bottles, and in the bathrooms they’ve ensured that recycled towels, toilet paper, biodegradable soaps and earth-friendly cleaning products will all be used en masse. Even the port-a-potties will have biodegradable detergents! I guess the one question left to ask is how we can ensure that this becomes the norm at Giants Stadium and other venues across the world, because that’s what sustainability is all about. Making everyday choices that may start out unique enough to wind up on Treehugger, but end up being culturally sustainable themselves. via:: press release
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
From prison to eco-paradise: the greening of Alcatraz
by Helene Labriet-Gross
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Once a sinister home to notorious mobsters and murderers, Alcatraz is in line for an environmental makeover that could see the imposing former prison island become a tree-hugger's paradise.
Under plans by the Golden Gate National Recreation Area which manages the rugged rock in the middle of San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz is poised to be transformed into a beacon for progressive communities.
Although Alcatraz slammed shut its prison doors for the last time in 1963, the island continues to welcome hundreds of visitors on a daily basis, becoming San Francisco's premier tourist attraction.
Those demands place an energy and resources burden on Alcatraz that is impossible to be satisfied locally, with all of the facility's fuel, water and waste laboriously transported back and forth across the bay.
However, the US Parks Service is now studying plans to make Alcatraz self-sufficient in an attempt to lessen the impact on the environment and provide an example to the rest of the United States.
By 2014, authorities expect to have installed a waste reprocessing plant as well as a de-salination plant to provide drinking water.
"Currently, we have to carry all the water requirements we have on the island over to the island," said Brian O'Neill, superintendent of the Golden Gate National Park. "We have to haul off all the sewage."
"We pump it. It comes through the plumbing system, and it's pumped on into a boat, and then it's taken over to the mainland, to San Francisco, and discharged into the city sewer system."
Fuel is shipped over to the island regularly to be pumped into generators to provide power, something that authorities want to phase, looking to wind, solar and even tidal power to provide alternatives.
"What we want is to explore various forms of alternative energies, that would eliminate the need to use fossil fuel," O'Neill told AFP.
"We want to look at photovoltaic cells on various buildings, we want to look at tidal power, because right off of Alcatraz, there's enough power to supply our needs. And we want to look at wind. It would be a combination."
Tidal power is increasingly being viewed as a viable provider of energy by authorities across the San Francisco area.
Last week, local utilities and officials announced plans to conduct an exhaustive study into whether the churning tides of the Bay Area could be harnessed to provide energy.
By 2009, a solar-powered boat -- "Solar Sailor" -- will be operational and ready to transport daytrippers from San Francisco to the island.
O'Neill said he wants to see Alcatraz and other US national park properties lead the field in terms of their environmental policies.
"We want the national parks to be an exemplar of the best practices," O'Neill said. "We want people to be inspired by the way we conserve water, the way we use alternative energies and green products, and how we recycle to live more sustainably."
The environmental drive on Alcatraz is part of a broader facelift being given to the island, which has included a revamped version of the the prison's popular audio-tour and ongoing renovations to buildings.
"We'll probably looking at being able to have meetings and conferences there," O'Neill said. "It's a really wonderfully unique occasion when you are there, because the views of the Golden Gate and the city are stunning.
"It also has an obvious benefit for us by generating additional revenues we can reinvest in further improvements."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070628/lf_afp/usenvironmentenergyalcatraz_070628013607;_ylt=AkMvHliOCpM4ewmhruyQNGtkM3wV
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Once a sinister home to notorious mobsters and murderers, Alcatraz is in line for an environmental makeover that could see the imposing former prison island become a tree-hugger's paradise.
Under plans by the Golden Gate National Recreation Area which manages the rugged rock in the middle of San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz is poised to be transformed into a beacon for progressive communities.
Although Alcatraz slammed shut its prison doors for the last time in 1963, the island continues to welcome hundreds of visitors on a daily basis, becoming San Francisco's premier tourist attraction.
Those demands place an energy and resources burden on Alcatraz that is impossible to be satisfied locally, with all of the facility's fuel, water and waste laboriously transported back and forth across the bay.
However, the US Parks Service is now studying plans to make Alcatraz self-sufficient in an attempt to lessen the impact on the environment and provide an example to the rest of the United States.
By 2014, authorities expect to have installed a waste reprocessing plant as well as a de-salination plant to provide drinking water.
"Currently, we have to carry all the water requirements we have on the island over to the island," said Brian O'Neill, superintendent of the Golden Gate National Park. "We have to haul off all the sewage."
"We pump it. It comes through the plumbing system, and it's pumped on into a boat, and then it's taken over to the mainland, to San Francisco, and discharged into the city sewer system."
Fuel is shipped over to the island regularly to be pumped into generators to provide power, something that authorities want to phase, looking to wind, solar and even tidal power to provide alternatives.
"What we want is to explore various forms of alternative energies, that would eliminate the need to use fossil fuel," O'Neill told AFP.
"We want to look at photovoltaic cells on various buildings, we want to look at tidal power, because right off of Alcatraz, there's enough power to supply our needs. And we want to look at wind. It would be a combination."
Tidal power is increasingly being viewed as a viable provider of energy by authorities across the San Francisco area.
Last week, local utilities and officials announced plans to conduct an exhaustive study into whether the churning tides of the Bay Area could be harnessed to provide energy.
By 2009, a solar-powered boat -- "Solar Sailor" -- will be operational and ready to transport daytrippers from San Francisco to the island.
O'Neill said he wants to see Alcatraz and other US national park properties lead the field in terms of their environmental policies.
"We want the national parks to be an exemplar of the best practices," O'Neill said. "We want people to be inspired by the way we conserve water, the way we use alternative energies and green products, and how we recycle to live more sustainably."
The environmental drive on Alcatraz is part of a broader facelift being given to the island, which has included a revamped version of the the prison's popular audio-tour and ongoing renovations to buildings.
"We'll probably looking at being able to have meetings and conferences there," O'Neill said. "It's a really wonderfully unique occasion when you are there, because the views of the Golden Gate and the city are stunning.
"It also has an obvious benefit for us by generating additional revenues we can reinvest in further improvements."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070628/lf_afp/usenvironmentenergyalcatraz_070628013607;_ylt=AkMvHliOCpM4ewmhruyQNGtkM3wV
U.N. report: Desertification a threat
By MICHAEL CASEY, AP Environmental Writer
BANGKOK, Thailand - Desertification represents one of the "greatest environmental challenge of our times" and could set off mass migrations of people fleeing degraded homelands, a United Nations report warned Thursday.
The report called on governments in arid regions to revise rules on land use to halt overgrazing and unsustainable irrigation practices. It also urged better coordinated policies to address the problem of desertification.
"It is imperative that effective policies and sustainable agricultural practices be put in place to reverse the decline of drylands," says Hans van Ginkel, a professor at the United Nations University, which produced the report.
"Addressing desertification is a critical and essential part of adapting to climate change and mitigating global biodiversity losses," Van Ginkel said.
The report said about 2 billion people, a third of the Earth's population, are potential victims of desertification, which is defined as land degraded by human activities like farming and grazing.
If the problem is left unchecked, some 50 million people could be forced from their homes over the next decade, the report said.
The report, the work of more than 200 experts from 25 countries, said policies on preventing desertification are often inconsistent, frequently not implemented at local levels or inadvertently fuel conflict over land, water and other resources.
Funding is also a problem, with major donor nations cutting funding by 29 percent at the last Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in 2005, the report said.
"What is happening is that policy makers and politicians are not aware of the gravity of the situation. They are not putting in adequate resource to meet the challenge," said Zafar Adeel, lead author of the analysis and director of the United Nation University's International Network on Water, Environment and Health.
"As the problem is getting bigger, the resources allocated are getting smaller," Adeel said in a phone interview from Toronto. "There is a fundamental problem on the policy side in not understanding the linkage between efforts to reduce poverty, meet the land use development goals and combating desertification."
Along with reforming land use policies, Adeel said, governments could provide financial incentives for herders and other dryland users to preserve threatened land while giving them greater authority over what often is communal land.
Governments could also work to create less destructive livelihoods for desert communities, including promoting eco-tourism and solar power, he said.
"If they are done appropriately, policies that reinforce alternative livelihoods are a strong tool for preventing desertification," Adeel said. "Eco-tourism is something that is very popular. If done correctly, it doesn't pose a huge burden on natural ecosystems."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070628/ap_on_sc/un_dangerous_deserts_1
BANGKOK, Thailand - Desertification represents one of the "greatest environmental challenge of our times" and could set off mass migrations of people fleeing degraded homelands, a United Nations report warned Thursday.
The report called on governments in arid regions to revise rules on land use to halt overgrazing and unsustainable irrigation practices. It also urged better coordinated policies to address the problem of desertification.
"It is imperative that effective policies and sustainable agricultural practices be put in place to reverse the decline of drylands," says Hans van Ginkel, a professor at the United Nations University, which produced the report.
"Addressing desertification is a critical and essential part of adapting to climate change and mitigating global biodiversity losses," Van Ginkel said.
The report said about 2 billion people, a third of the Earth's population, are potential victims of desertification, which is defined as land degraded by human activities like farming and grazing.
If the problem is left unchecked, some 50 million people could be forced from their homes over the next decade, the report said.
The report, the work of more than 200 experts from 25 countries, said policies on preventing desertification are often inconsistent, frequently not implemented at local levels or inadvertently fuel conflict over land, water and other resources.
Funding is also a problem, with major donor nations cutting funding by 29 percent at the last Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in 2005, the report said.
"What is happening is that policy makers and politicians are not aware of the gravity of the situation. They are not putting in adequate resource to meet the challenge," said Zafar Adeel, lead author of the analysis and director of the United Nation University's International Network on Water, Environment and Health.
"As the problem is getting bigger, the resources allocated are getting smaller," Adeel said in a phone interview from Toronto. "There is a fundamental problem on the policy side in not understanding the linkage between efforts to reduce poverty, meet the land use development goals and combating desertification."
Along with reforming land use policies, Adeel said, governments could provide financial incentives for herders and other dryland users to preserve threatened land while giving them greater authority over what often is communal land.
Governments could also work to create less destructive livelihoods for desert communities, including promoting eco-tourism and solar power, he said.
"If they are done appropriately, policies that reinforce alternative livelihoods are a strong tool for preventing desertification," Adeel said. "Eco-tourism is something that is very popular. If done correctly, it doesn't pose a huge burden on natural ecosystems."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070628/ap_on_sc/un_dangerous_deserts_1
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Market for Solar Thermal Heating Up
Most of the buzz about solar is for generating electricity, but much of our natural gas is used for space and water heating, when this is the easiest and cheapest way to use solar to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and conserve the resource, particularly in the Northern US and Canada. It is a simple, straightforward technology that is more cost-effective than photovoltaics, but As Tyler Hamilton says, solar thermal has always presented a better business case than solar photovoltaics but has never taken seriously.
But with peak oil and possibly peak gas around the corner, it should be; there are lots of ways to make electricity but how will we heat our homes?
Now with Government incentives and interest free loans, it is getting interesting. The City of Toronto is converting its swimming pools to solar, and Wal-Mart is testing a system on one of its big boxes in the Toronto area. The Provincal government announced the goal of having 100,000 solar electric or thermal systems installed across the province.
A lot of older houses (and some new ones with radiant floors) are heated hydronically, and these are a natural for conversion; it can provide all of the heat some of the time and in really cold weather it certainly cuts down the fossil fuel needed. The hot water can also be run through coils to adapt to hot air heating systems.
System prices are dropping quickly now that evacuated tubes are made in China; at a trade show recently we saw a package unit with evacuated tubes, a strorage tank and controls for under six thousand dollars, about the same as we paid for our high efficiency furnace. ::Toronto Star
No Renewable Power for Coalition Forces in Iraq?
What a pity: Noah Shachtman of Wired's Danger Room reports that the Joint Chiefs of Staff has decided to nix an "urgent" request made by Marine Corps Major General Richard Zilmer, the head of coalition forces in Western Iraq, for renewable power stations. Zilmer's "priority 1" plea called for the installation of 183 solar- and wind turbine-equipped stations which, he argues, would've allowed troops to avoid unnecessarily putting themselves at risk by constantly having to transport fuel to outlying bases along exposed routes.
"If this need is not met, operating forces will remain unnecessarily exposed ... and will continue to accrue preventable Level III and IV serious and grave casualties," he said. He also pointed out that the high cost of the fuel (which can reach up to $400 in Iraq), in addition to the costs incurred by transporting and storing it, made switching over to a renewable source of energy a more financially viable solution.
Unfortunately the Joint Chiefs would have none of it. Arguing that the solar and wind-power technologies are "not mature enough" to deploy in a battlefield setting, they recently sent Zilmer a curt rejection notice, almost a year after he made his initial request. They may be deployed following a "technology demonstration" that will take place in the next fiscal year.
On a more positive note, four hybrid-electric power station prototypes from SkyBuilt Power, a company based in Virginia (which we mentioned before here), will soon be tested by the Army's Rapid Equipping Force. If approved, two units will be sent "outside the U.S." (i.e. Afghanistan and Iraq) to be tested on the battlefield, after which a decision will be taken on further deployment options.
Via ::Danger Room: Joint Chiefs Neg "Urgent" Green Power
The Big, the Bad and the Biofuels
by Jenna Watson, Barcelona on 06.26.07
Science & Technology (alternative energy)
At the recent meeting of Friends of Trees held in Barcelona, Vandana Shiva made some interesting comments about biofuels, which lead us to wonder why we don’t see more about it even here on Treehugger. She said that it takes more energy to produce 1 litre of biofuels than the energy that is given by that same litre and that . Coming from this renowned physicist, ecologist, seed activist and eco-feminist we thought we should look further into the topic. Not coincidentally, later on during the conference a Spanish NGO called Debt Watch passed out a one page flyer that answers “5 questions about biofuels or agrofuels.”
In short here is what they say (they also provide references which you can see on their website ):
1. Are agrofuels clean and do they protect the environment?All of the agrochemicals and the petroleum necessary to produce and transport biofuels contaminate air, soil and water adding to the greenhouse effect. Numerous studies show that the energy balance for these crops is negative.
2. Don’t agrofuels imply deforestation?In Brasil alone the deforestation of 80 million hectares of Amazon forest is planned. When the organization calculated the deforestation (for cutting and burning) the total emissions per unit of palm oil is approximately double that of gasoline.
3. Do agrofuels aid in rural development?In the tropics 100 hectares used for family agriculture generates 35 jobs, where as for palm oil and sugar cane only 10 jobs are created, eucalyptus 2, soy 1.5. Small land owners cannot access loans and do not own enough land that would make the production of biofuels worthwhile. Hundred of thousands of farmers and indigenous people have been displaced in Latin America.
4. Won’t agrofuels cause hunger and thirst?The demand last year for corn to produce ethanol caused an increase in the price of this crop, as well pig-farmers noted the rising cost of grain needed to make feed (soy, corn and barley) along with rising costs of rice and wheat. The millions of people suffering from hunger are rising in number while we are using grain to produce fuel.
5. Are second generation agrofuels within our reach?The flyer notes that industrial processes are being studied (as we know) to obtain ethanol from cellulose, which would eliminate the use of grains to create biofuels.
George Monbiot also tackled the issue in recent issue of The Guardian and we covered it in March. He also warned of the social, economic and environmental impacts of biofuels. After searching life cycle assessments of biofuels we found there are varying views remembering that LCA is generally limited to environmental impacts and rarely incorporates social or economic aspects.
It seems this issue will be an ongoing one, so before we can give thumbs up or thumbs down on biofuels more investigation needs to happen. Beyond all of this talk about biofuels are we really just avoiding the real issue of reducing consumption and our dependence on vehicular motion? Walk, ride your bike, take your skateboard, and if need be use a car-sharing program – get rid of your addiction to the automobile. Isn’t that where the real changes need to be made before we consider alternative fuels? Biofuels are obviously not going to be the solution unless properly managed. It is a sustainable development issue: environment, economics and society are all being hurt by the current race to create biofuels. Check out the Debt Watch website if you are a Spanish-speaker or our coverage of Monbiot's article. Inform yourself about biofuels and tell us what you think. Good, bad or ugly? Read the full flyer in Spanish (sorry English-speakers!)here. Image credit: The Age
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/06/big-bad-biofuels.php
Science & Technology (alternative energy)
At the recent meeting of Friends of Trees held in Barcelona, Vandana Shiva made some interesting comments about biofuels, which lead us to wonder why we don’t see more about it even here on Treehugger. She said that it takes more energy to produce 1 litre of biofuels than the energy that is given by that same litre and that . Coming from this renowned physicist, ecologist, seed activist and eco-feminist we thought we should look further into the topic. Not coincidentally, later on during the conference a Spanish NGO called Debt Watch passed out a one page flyer that answers “5 questions about biofuels or agrofuels.”
In short here is what they say (they also provide references which you can see on their website ):
1. Are agrofuels clean and do they protect the environment?All of the agrochemicals and the petroleum necessary to produce and transport biofuels contaminate air, soil and water adding to the greenhouse effect. Numerous studies show that the energy balance for these crops is negative.
2. Don’t agrofuels imply deforestation?In Brasil alone the deforestation of 80 million hectares of Amazon forest is planned. When the organization calculated the deforestation (for cutting and burning) the total emissions per unit of palm oil is approximately double that of gasoline.
3. Do agrofuels aid in rural development?In the tropics 100 hectares used for family agriculture generates 35 jobs, where as for palm oil and sugar cane only 10 jobs are created, eucalyptus 2, soy 1.5. Small land owners cannot access loans and do not own enough land that would make the production of biofuels worthwhile. Hundred of thousands of farmers and indigenous people have been displaced in Latin America.
4. Won’t agrofuels cause hunger and thirst?The demand last year for corn to produce ethanol caused an increase in the price of this crop, as well pig-farmers noted the rising cost of grain needed to make feed (soy, corn and barley) along with rising costs of rice and wheat. The millions of people suffering from hunger are rising in number while we are using grain to produce fuel.
5. Are second generation agrofuels within our reach?The flyer notes that industrial processes are being studied (as we know) to obtain ethanol from cellulose, which would eliminate the use of grains to create biofuels.
George Monbiot also tackled the issue in recent issue of The Guardian and we covered it in March. He also warned of the social, economic and environmental impacts of biofuels. After searching life cycle assessments of biofuels we found there are varying views remembering that LCA is generally limited to environmental impacts and rarely incorporates social or economic aspects.
It seems this issue will be an ongoing one, so before we can give thumbs up or thumbs down on biofuels more investigation needs to happen. Beyond all of this talk about biofuels are we really just avoiding the real issue of reducing consumption and our dependence on vehicular motion? Walk, ride your bike, take your skateboard, and if need be use a car-sharing program – get rid of your addiction to the automobile. Isn’t that where the real changes need to be made before we consider alternative fuels? Biofuels are obviously not going to be the solution unless properly managed. It is a sustainable development issue: environment, economics and society are all being hurt by the current race to create biofuels. Check out the Debt Watch website if you are a Spanish-speaker or our coverage of Monbiot's article. Inform yourself about biofuels and tell us what you think. Good, bad or ugly? Read the full flyer in Spanish (sorry English-speakers!)here. Image credit: The Age
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/06/big-bad-biofuels.php
Waste-Powered, Award-Winning Stove Cuts Smoke in China's Countryside
If there are any upsides to serious environmental problems it might be the brilliant (and often low tech) solutions that are invented to tackle them. The Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy, which were announced last Saturday in London with the help of Al Gore, showcase and handsomely reward some of the most powerful ideas being put to good use in places where they're needed most, reducing pollution and poverty while inspiring and fostering environmental innovation everywhere. Bilingual Chinadialogue spoke to one of the Enterprise Award winners, Pan Shijiao, who runs Beijing Shenzhou Daxu Bio-energy Technology Company, or Daxu for short. While based just north of Beijing, where the population is rising alongside the economy, the company produces biogas stoves for use in the countryside, where 70 percent of China's population still lives. Using cylinders of crop waste for fuel instead of unhealthy and unsustainable coal and firewood, the stove is over 40 percent efficient, and can cook up supper in 15 to 20 minutes without the billows of smoke pollution typical in rural areas.
When asked about China's impact on the world's climate, Mr Pan was sanguine about the country's multi-sided, public-private approach to the problem:
As a manager of a small enterprise, I think I should run my own company very well and contribute to this process. We have a philosophy: to do practical things in terms of energy saving and emissions reductions, so that we can have a better environment. And in doing this we address the same environmental concerns as the central government. It’s my opinion that adopting these stoves across the country could reduce emissions by around 20%. There are currently some 200 million rural households in China, and almost all of them have coal stoves.
Those households aren't just potential renewable energy users. They're potential customers.
via Chinadialogue
Bio-Digesters in India: Nothing Wasted, A Lot More Gained
In the tropical green south Indian state of Kerala, there is a fresh strategy of dealing with an old problem of waste: specially designed, efficient organic 'digesters' that turn solid waste into energy.
Beginning in 1994, a local NGO called Bio-tech pioneered the development of their ‘integrated waste recycling plant,’ where large amounts of organic waste generated by the markets, slaughter houses, and restaurant kitchens are treated and converted into methane (cooking gas) and fertilizer.
Saji Das, the man behind Bio-tech, then chose town of Kadakkal in Kollam district (which fortuitously had the largest dump in the state) as the location for the first integrated recycling plant. Today, the plant is capable of digesting daily one tonne of waste – producing three kilowatts of energy – enough to power 120 street lamps.
The conversion process begins with the manual segregation of wet waste, dry biodegradable waste and recyclable solids like glass, metal and plastic. The plant utilizes five technologies in order to complete the transformation of waste to energy in the form of biogas, namely biomethanization, biocineration, leach beds, waste water treatment and vermicomposting.
Wet waste – including blood and other waste matter from the slaughter house – is critical in producing biogas and is actually run through a pre-digester in order to boost the bacterial action that will break the waste down further. Once the process is complete, it generates biogas that can be used as fuel, in addition to electricity used for lighting and organic NPK (Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potash mix) fertilizer.
No waste is left behind, as the different components of the Bio-tech integrated recycling plant are designed to address specific types of waste, which distinguishes them from traditional, less-efficient treatment plants. For instance, the biocinerator unit is designed to handle wastes that degrade slowly, such as paper, dry leaves and plants, while the biomethanization unit processes all organic waste. The leach beds dispense with vegetable matter. Anaerobic waste treatment takes place in another separate unit and the final process incorporates earthworm action in a vermicompost unit.
Back at Kadakkal, this thorough efficiency is reflected in the reuse of water that is extracted and recycled so that it can be sent back to flush out abattoirs. Electricity produced by the plant is used to run all the equipment, while the incinerator runs only on the biogas produced by the methanization unit.
Das has now set up ten such integrated plants all over Kerala. In towns such as Kumbalangi, environmentalism and tourism have joined forces in transforming it into a “model tourism village” where, with government support, 140 Biotech domestic units have been designed to run on human waste from lavatories, in addition to 800 units that convert biogas from other wastes. Other municipalities, such as the tourist-friendly Kovalam, are following suit as well.
In the larger scheme of things, these integrated recycling plants make conventional, centralized garbage disposal systems look like, well, junk. There is no need to address the challenges of collection and transportation and all maintenance happens on-site. The units themselves can be tailored to suit the requirements of the customer and the domestic version only needs one square metre of space – and manages both solid and liquid waste at the same time. Costs to imported Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for cooking are saved.
In a state where its ‘Annual Economic Review’ published by the government shows that only 50 per cent of the 2,500 tonnes of waste created per day in Kerala is collected for disposal – and where the tourism industry generates additionally one tonne of waste daily – the bio-waste digesters are looking like an ecologically-effective and versatile way around the looming spectre of the waste problem in India and beyond.::InterPress Service
::The Hindu
Efficiency Could Cut Industrial Energy Use 26%
Jun 26 2007
A new study from the International Energy Agency estimates there is potential for technical efficiency improvements of 18-26 percent for the manufacturing industry worldwide and said energy savings could be larger if new technologies were taken into account, CNET reports.
Industry could be made more energy-efficient by upgrading the engines used in factories, including adjustable speed drives, steam systems and combined heat and power, and by recycling materials.
“The potential is so large that more efforts are warranted, in order to achieve deep carbon dioxide emission reductions, reduce fossil fuel dependence and increase industrial competitiveness,” IEA Chief Claude Mandil said.
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2007/06/26/efficiency-could-cut-industrial-energy-use-26/
A new study from the International Energy Agency estimates there is potential for technical efficiency improvements of 18-26 percent for the manufacturing industry worldwide and said energy savings could be larger if new technologies were taken into account, CNET reports.
Industry could be made more energy-efficient by upgrading the engines used in factories, including adjustable speed drives, steam systems and combined heat and power, and by recycling materials.
“The potential is so large that more efforts are warranted, in order to achieve deep carbon dioxide emission reductions, reduce fossil fuel dependence and increase industrial competitiveness,” IEA Chief Claude Mandil said.
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2007/06/26/efficiency-could-cut-industrial-energy-use-26/
Monday, June 25, 2007
Hong Kong Gym Harvests People-Power
by Matthew Sparkes, London, UK on 06.25.07
Food & Health
Obesity is rife, and power is scarce. A gym in Hong Kong has take these two problems, and created one bonkers solution. The exercise machines create power which is then used to power the gym.
Rather than use machines that waste energy as heat or sound, they have installed the useful machines which can generate up to 50 watts from each person.
Lucien Gambarota, the inventor behind the idea, said, "Each of these machines, they are equipped with a generator inside. So what we did, we diverted part of the electricity produced by the machine to recharge a battery, he said. "And with what we store in the battery, we have been able to power part of the lighting system."
One club member is behind the plan, "I think it's a really good idea. At least the energy is used for something good. It gives you more reason - you are not wasting what you are using, so it's better that way."
Steve Clinefelter, president of the chain of gyms, said that they would consider implementing the plan in other centers around the country. "If that proves successful and economically viable, then we see nothing that would stop us from continuing to grow to more and more of our clubs, and ultimately to the entire industry, and all clubs worldwide would consider and choose this kind of an alternative power source."
Clinefelter says that in the future the machines may be hooked up to the TVs in the gym – if the members want to watch, then they have to work out. It’s an interesting motivational technique, I’m sure you’ll agree. ::VOA
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/06/hong_kong_gym_h.php
Food & Health
Obesity is rife, and power is scarce. A gym in Hong Kong has take these two problems, and created one bonkers solution. The exercise machines create power which is then used to power the gym.
Rather than use machines that waste energy as heat or sound, they have installed the useful machines which can generate up to 50 watts from each person.
Lucien Gambarota, the inventor behind the idea, said, "Each of these machines, they are equipped with a generator inside. So what we did, we diverted part of the electricity produced by the machine to recharge a battery, he said. "And with what we store in the battery, we have been able to power part of the lighting system."
One club member is behind the plan, "I think it's a really good idea. At least the energy is used for something good. It gives you more reason - you are not wasting what you are using, so it's better that way."
Steve Clinefelter, president of the chain of gyms, said that they would consider implementing the plan in other centers around the country. "If that proves successful and economically viable, then we see nothing that would stop us from continuing to grow to more and more of our clubs, and ultimately to the entire industry, and all clubs worldwide would consider and choose this kind of an alternative power source."
Clinefelter says that in the future the machines may be hooked up to the TVs in the gym – if the members want to watch, then they have to work out. It’s an interesting motivational technique, I’m sure you’ll agree. ::VOA
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/06/hong_kong_gym_h.php
GM Launches Hybrids Amid Brisk Prius Sales
by Dustin Dwyer
All Things Considered, June 25, 2007 · General Motors is launching four new hybrids this year and next as it gets serious about closing the "green gap" with rival Toyota.
GM has pinned its hopes for the future on a more sophisticated "lithium-ion" hybrid and hopes to have it on the market by 2010.
Meanwhile, though, Toyota is cashing in on the popularity of the Prius, and GM is struggling to come up with a good response.
For audio feed:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11366565
All Things Considered, June 25, 2007 · General Motors is launching four new hybrids this year and next as it gets serious about closing the "green gap" with rival Toyota.
GM has pinned its hopes for the future on a more sophisticated "lithium-ion" hybrid and hopes to have it on the market by 2010.
Meanwhile, though, Toyota is cashing in on the popularity of the Prius, and GM is struggling to come up with a good response.
For audio feed:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11366565
Home Depot’s Eco Options Program Gets Big Response From Suppliers
Jun 25 2007
When Home Depot asked suppliers to make a pitch to have their products included in its Eco Options label program, almost a third of the products the retailer sells applied for inclusion, The New York Times reports.
When Home Depot asked suppliers to make a pitch to have their products included in its Eco Options label program, almost a third of the products the retailer sells applied for inclusion, The New York Times reports.
Plastic-handled paint brushes were touted as nature-friendly because they were not made of wood. Wood-handled paint brushes were promoted as better for the planet because they were not made of plastic.
“Most of what you see today in the green movement is voodoo marketing,” said Ron Jarvis, a Home Depot senior vice president who oversees the Eco Options program.
Only 2,500 of the products, including solar-powered landscape lighting, biodegradable peat pots and paints that discharge fewer pollutants, made the cut.
Home Depot is working with Scientific Certification Systems to develop new broad-based standards that will grade a product based on its environmental record over its entire life cycle - including the sustainability of its production process, its efficiency and longevity and how it can be recycled when it is no longer useful.
Third-party environmental certifications - aimed at specific areas - already exist. The Marine Stewardship Council covers seafood; VeriFlora certifies flowers; and Green Seal puts its stamp on government and corporate buying.
Stonyfield Farm is expected to announce that Climate Counts, a nonprofit group it helped found, will independently evaluate leading consumer-products companies’ efforts to manage their climate effect. The idea is to create a metric that will allow consumers to compare, say, McDonald’s and Burger King.
Burt’s Bees has established its own standard to define natural personal-care products, vowing to follow its own rules as it works to get other players in the industry to endorse its standard too.
The question is whether or not retailers, with programs like Eco Options, can change the way suppliers operate. In addition to Home Depot, retailers such as Wal-Mart and Office Depot have been flexing their corporate environmental power lately, extending their green policies beyond their own operations to impact suppliers and consumers. Wal-Mart, for example, is helping to push a repackaging trend along by encouraging its 66,000 suppliers to reduce their packaging starting next year as part of its goal of cutting overall packaging five percent by 2013.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
SF Mayor prohibits city departments from using bottled water
Friday, June 22, 2007
(06-22) 18:39 PDT San Francisco (AP) --
Citing environmental concerns, Mayor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order prohibiting city departments from buying bottled water.
In a decision announced Thursday, Newsom said the ban will go into effect July 1 and extend to all city and county water coolers by December 1.
Tony Winnicker, spokesman for the San Francisco public utilities commission, said Newsom's decision will save tax payer money and combat global warming.
More than 40 million gallons of oil are needed to make the plastic water bottles Americans purchase each year, according to data cited in the mayor's announcement.
The press release also cites the environmental impact of transporting and disposing of the bottles, more than a billion of which end up in the state's landfills each year, according to the press release.
In addition, the mayor argues that municipal water is often better than bottled water.
When the ban goes into effect, city and county offices will dispense municipal tap water from Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.
Winnicker said exceptions will be made in cases where potable water is not easily available or poses health concerns.
The mayor's bottled water ban is required of city and county offices unless changed by the next administration, said Joe Arellano, Newsom's spokesman.
"We're hoping to set the example for the private sector and other cities in getting off the bottle," said Winnicker.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/06/22/state/n183949D84.DTL
(06-22) 18:39 PDT San Francisco (AP) --
Citing environmental concerns, Mayor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order prohibiting city departments from buying bottled water.
In a decision announced Thursday, Newsom said the ban will go into effect July 1 and extend to all city and county water coolers by December 1.
Tony Winnicker, spokesman for the San Francisco public utilities commission, said Newsom's decision will save tax payer money and combat global warming.
More than 40 million gallons of oil are needed to make the plastic water bottles Americans purchase each year, according to data cited in the mayor's announcement.
The press release also cites the environmental impact of transporting and disposing of the bottles, more than a billion of which end up in the state's landfills each year, according to the press release.
In addition, the mayor argues that municipal water is often better than bottled water.
When the ban goes into effect, city and county offices will dispense municipal tap water from Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.
Winnicker said exceptions will be made in cases where potable water is not easily available or poses health concerns.
The mayor's bottled water ban is required of city and county offices unless changed by the next administration, said Joe Arellano, Newsom's spokesman.
"We're hoping to set the example for the private sector and other cities in getting off the bottle," said Winnicker.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/06/22/state/n183949D84.DTL
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